Authorities in West Bengal on Monday toppled and took away a 70-foot statue of soccer legend Lionel Messi in Kolkata’s Lake Town neighborhood.
The Public Works Department (PWD) intervention followed a wave of complaints from local residents that the massive iron and fiberglass structure was swaying during recent periods of high winds. Officials said this poses a public safety risk ahead of the upcoming monsoon season.
Heavy hydraulic cranes and engineering teams deployed along the VIP route early Monday morning to secure and dismantle the high-rise facility, which was located above an underground pedestrian crossing.
The giant tribute, which depicts the Argentine star lifting the 2022 FIFA World Cup trophy, was inaugurated during Messi’s upcoming tour of India. The GOAT India Tour in December 2025 was marked by administrative lapses and on-court violence.
The removal carries political connotations, as it occurs just weeks after the historic shift in governance in West Bengal.
In the state assembly elections concluded in May, the BJP achieved a landslide victory, winning 207 seats, ending 15 years of Trinamool Congress rule led by Mamata Banerjee.
The giant statue of Messi, erected by Sri Bhumi Sports Club, was given major support by former TMC minister Sujit Bose.
Since the BJP came to power, several public infrastructure projects, sports sculptures and symbolic monuments commissioned during the TMC era have faced increased scrutiny.
On May 23, the state government removed a football-themed statue also in Kolkata.
Personally designed by then CM Mamata Banerjee, it was removed after newly appointed Sports Minister Nisith Pramanik called the design “ugly”.
